LANCET JOURNAL: Malaria vaccines for children: and now there are two

In 2021, malaria posed a significant threat to nearly half of the global population, resulting in over 600,000 deaths annually, with the majority occurring in the WHO African region and affecting children under 5 years old. To combat malaria, the WHO recommends various preventive and curative measures, including vector control, chemoprevention, prompt diagnosis, treatment, and, since October 2021, malaria vaccines, notably the first one, RTS,S/AS01.

After over 40 years of vaccine development, a breakthrough was achieved with the successful demonstration of the effectiveness, safety, and programmatic feasibility of RTS,S/AS01 through large-scale pilot implementations in three African countries. Despite high demand for malaria vaccines, particularly with 18 countries approved for Gavi support in introducing the vaccine in 2024, the supply of RTS,S/AS01 is limited, with only 18 million doses available between 2023 and 2025, while the anticipated annual demand ranges from 80 to 100 million doses. Addressing this shortage, inventors at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India, have developed a second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M. To read more on this second vaccine, click the link below!

Read About the Malaria Vaccine and Second Vaccine Development!